Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if, as part of a wider programme of public service reform, he will confirm that a detailed and rigorous analysis has been undertaken or is underway to identify redundant processes across the service in terms of achieving both staffing efficiencies and service provision efficiencies; if so, if he will describe the analysis in detail; if he will provide details of the results or expected results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43243/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government is making good progress on achieving all of our targets and priorities, as set out in the Programme for Government. We are bringing public expenditure back to sustainable levels and driving forward the public service reform agenda to ensure that efficiencies and reformed work practices play a full part in contributing to the overall budgetary consolidation effort.

As part of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE), conducted in 2011, each Department, including my own, undertook an in-depth analysis of their spending programmes. The purpose of the CRE was to identify: expenditure programme savings; scope for savings arising from efficiency and other reforms; redundant and obsolete processes; proposals for reducing and/or merging of agencies; and associated reductions in staff numbers. The detailed reports of each Department as well as the final Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-2014 have been published, in line with Programme for Government commitments, on my Department’s website.

This fundamental re-assessment of spending priorities forms a key platform for the Government’s overall Public Service Reform agenda.

The Government has set a target of reducing public service staff numbers to 282,500 by end-2014. As of mid 2012, Public Service numbers stood at 292,000, which is 28,000 below the peak numbers level of 320,000 in 2008 and is comparable to the 2005 staffing levels. Service levels have been largely maintained notwithstanding these considerable staff reductions due to increased productivity/workplace flexibilities. The estimated reduction in the pay bill cost from 2009 to 2015 is €3.8 billion.

As the Deputy will be aware, this Government is committed to far reaching reform of the Public Service and providing better value for money in service delivery. The Government’s Public Service Reform Plan, which was published last November, outlines the priority actions and timelines for reform.

Implementation of this Reform Plan is being co-ordinated and monitored by the Reform and Delivery Office in my Department. Good progress has been made and last month I published a Progress Report setting out the achievements made to date against the major elements of the Public Service Reform Plan. I will be meeting the Public Accounts Committee tomorrow to discuss progress and will also be meeting the Committee of Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform in the coming weeks in this regard.

Major initiatives in the Reform Plan that are contributing to the achievement of efficiencies in both staffing and service provision include the increased use of shared services in all sectors which will mean that fewer staff and financial resources are required to perform those business functions as duplication is eliminated. Progress is being made on the consolidation of ICT across the Public Service, including a programme of data centre consolidation as set out in the Cloud Computing Strategy for the Public Service published in July.

In addition, we are in the process of examining activities which may be suitable for external service delivery, which has the potential to deliver more efficient and flexible services and to lower costs. The reform of the central procurement function, through the establishment of a National Procurement Office to be led by a Chief Procurement Officer, the recruitment process for which is underway, has the potential to yield savings in the range of €249 million to €637 million over a three year period depending on the approach taken.

Central to the delivery of the objectives of the Reform Plan is a strong focus on implementation and delivery. Government Departments and major Offices have produced Integrated Reform Delivery Plans, which place centrally driven initiatives in the context of organisational and sectoral reforms. Each sector is responsible for the delivery of their Sectoral Plans and progress made on these plans is being overseen by the Reform and Delivery Office, which is also driving an increased capacity and capability for change, both centrally and across the various sectors of the Public Service, to ensure that the focus is firmly on implementation and delivery.